Next L.A. / A Look at issues, people and ideas helping to shape the emerging metropolis : Shuttles Ride to the Rescue

Once, Southern California had public transportation aplenty: If you needed a ride, any time, anywhere, all you had to do was yell, “Mo-o-o-m!”

But if the increase in the number of working mothers has brought with it a shortage of pro bono chauffeurs, it has also spawned a suburban industry. Into the breech has come a new breed of taxis aimed at serving the kids and senior citizens whom stay-at-home moms once shuttled for free.

In the San Fernando Valley, Neil Eisenberg’s 2-year-old VanGo transport service has grown from the single van he operated when he opened shop to a customized fleet of 23. Meanwhile, the Pasadena-based Kids Kar has gone from one van to seven in a year and will expand this fall into the Westside, the north Valley and Orange County, according to its owner, Jody Berglund.

“We take them to and from school, to doctor’s appointments, to Little League and soccer practice,” Eisenberg said. “Birthday parties. Bar mitzvahs. We take elderly people to chemotherapy.”

Both companies say their drivers are fingerprinted and undergo stringent background checks. Files with emergency contacts are maintained for each child using the service. Kids Kar, which markets itself more explicitly to small children, offers special treats on Fridays, hands out birthday gifts to frequent riders and tries to ensure that kids get the same driver every time they ride.

Fares for both services range from about $6 to about $15 per round trip depending on the distance and time involved, with special monthly and weekly rates for regulars. One Pasadena mother, who asked that her name not be used, said the service “saves my life every day” by shuttling her toddlers from their sitter’s home (in South Pasadena) to their nursery school (in San Marino) while she is at her job (in Irwindale) and her husband is at his (in Glendale).

Both Eisenberg and Berglund warned potential competitors that start-up costs are steep. Only a handful of insurance companies are willing to write policies for such services, and the premiums on coverage mandated by the Public Utilities Commission cost more than $10,000 per vehicle.

But, they say, the demand in sprawling Southern California is as strong as it was when they started their services--Eisenberg because his wife was sick of shuttling their little ones to kindergarten and preschool, and Berglund because her job as a paralegal left her with no way to get her 5-year-old to and from gymnastics class.